Moving from academia to the real world

I am currently enrolled at a non-target school in the southeast as a master of science in finance candidate.

Through undergrad, and even now, my work ethic has been impeccable. I have earned several merit based scholarships for both finance and real estate. I completed undergraduate majors in both, with a 3.8 final undergrad GPA, and moved on to a masters in finance.

So far, I have done extremely well. I have a graduate research assistantship for the 2019-20 academic year, and am only $500 short of having a full ride in this program.

My question here is, how do I sell myself to employers? I have no internship experience in my field. As I have worked in the service industry for the last 2 years because of how lucrative and flexible the industry is for a college student.

I feel as though I have absolutely crushed it in the academic world. But how can I get employers to see this and hire me as I move toward the end of my schooling? I understand that academia and the real world of finance are two very different things. So I am unsure of how I can play on my achievements in academia to land a desirable job after graduation. Thanks

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